Mariners Prospect No. 17: Alex Liddi

Alex Liddi, 3B, Tacoma Rainiers (AAA, 26.9 years old on average in 2011)

6-4, 230 lbs, 23 years old

Bats: Right, Throws: Right

Acquired: International Signing (2006)

ETA: 2012

Liddi has long been a top prospect and long been considered a defensive liability. Liddi was born in Italy, and his baseball experience is limited to European competition and the years he’s played in the minor leagues. Some scouts were high on Liddi’s defense last year, I’m not sold. He’s big for third base already, and I don’t personally see the huge improvements. His strikeouts though, are inexcusable. Liddi had struck out in over a quarter of his at-bats the previous two seasons, but when he got the bigs he was obviously way overmatched. He missed almost 30 percent of the pitches he swung at that were inside the strikezone. His swinging strike percentage was 18.8, which is more than 10 percent higher than league average. Liddi has major holes in his swing and his chances of becoming an MLB hitter seem pretty low at this point.